Best European Fiction 2017 by Eileen Battersby

Author:Eileen Battersby
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dalkey Archive Press
Published: 2017-05-05T16:00:00+00:00

Rūdis’s truck is parked in our agreed-to location at the corner of Kalēju and Audēju Streets.

“Get in on the double, my feet are frozen to the pedals.”

As soon as we take our places in the cab of the truck, the windows immediately steam up.

“What hot breaths. Did you have drinks, or what?” Rūdis wipes the windshield with one hand, his other hand steering the wheel.

“If you were to take off your boots and raise your frozen feet, we could blow on them and warm them up.”

“Yes … now I understand why you like Matīss.”

“Why?”

“Because he has no comeback for your sharp tongue.”

“You’re wrong. My tongue is as smooth as silk and as tender as down.”

“More likely as smooth as a scalpel.”

In such a way they banter back and forth until we reach the hospital. Having got out with Tamara, I indicate to Rūdis not to wait, but to take off. I’ll walk the short distance home. I want to accompany Tamara for a few steps.

“As you wish. But don’t kiss too long or you’ll get a sore throat,” Rūdis warns. I slam the truck door shut but he rolls down a window. “Matīss, don’t forget, the cognac is waiting.”

“Oh yeah.”

“Oh! Why did you let him go? Like this your cold will get worse. Give me a quick kiss and run after him. Tomorrow morning I’ll come to see you.”

“Yes?”

“Yes, for sure. I have to tell you some things.”

“Really!? Once you start, you have to finish.”

“Oh, God … who loosened my tongue,” Tamara is annoyed with herself. “I’ll just explain all tomorrow, so, please, be patient. How stupid of me, now you’ll imagine God knows what.”

“Hey … At least you could give me a hint of what this is about.”

“Don’t get uptight! It’s nothing bad, just the opposite. You’ve got a bit of patience, don’t you?”

“Uh-huh …”

“Well, good then.”

She gets up on her toes and we kiss much longer than Rūdis could stand. It’s biting cold, but I don’t want to let Tamara go.

“I laughed at Rūdis, but my feet are freezing too,” Tamara taps her heels one against the other, and our embrace is undone.

I always feel that this last moment of farewell is the hardest—who’ll be the first to look away and turn to go? Tamara has the upper hand, but she hesitates. Backing away step by step, I raise my hand and wiggle my finger tips—bye, bye, bye. Smiling, she waves in response, then turns and briskly walks away.

Life isn’t so bad after all—a wonderful opera just now, Tamara so lovely, there are no words to describe her. My mind is filled only with bright thoughts, and my steps skip along with them. My toes are freezing from the cold, but that’s just trivial, in a minute Rūdis and I will sit with a glass of cognac in a room warmed by a fired-up woodstove. What more can one small dust particle seeded in the infinite vastness of the cosmos wish for?

At the turn-off to our street a big, horn-honking truck with a tarpaulin-covered bed forces me off the road.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.